Runaway Love
by GlambertLovesBTR
Summary: Stella has had enough with being put down by society, so it's time that she gets away from all the misery with her boyfriend Carlos's help. Summary sucks, I know, but I promise the story's better!


**I've been having the worst week ever so I really just wanted to get this out. I'm still working on my other stories, I promise.**

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School was finally over. Thank the freakin' lord because I don't think I would've lasted one more minute in there without wanting to rip someone's throat out. It took me every fiber of my being to not attack Mercedes Griffin during pre-calculus because she just wouldn't shut up about how much money she had and how many boys she hooked up with this past week. It was so damn irritating so when that last bell of the day rang, I made sure to grab all of my books and run out of the school as fast as I could.

I threw my backpack into the back of my beaten down Volkswagen and then climbed into the car. Once I was buckled in, I turned on the radio. It took a few tries because my car is so jacked up, but I finally was able to make it work. Evanescence was playing, which brought a small smile on my face. I hummed a little to myself as I put my car into drive.

It felt like it took hours for me to finally get home. I think I hit almost every red light and the traffic was hell. I decided not to take the freeway like I usually did since there was a ton of construction going on, so I had to take the long way. Apparently there had been an accident right by the mall so I was waiting in this huge traffic jam for about a half an hour. I praised God when the cars around me started to move and everything cleared up and I continued to drive home.

The first thing I looked for when I got home was if there were any cars on the driveway. I saw that neither my mom nor dad's cars were there and I let out a huge breath that I didn't even realize I was holding. I parked in the driveway, got out of the car, and took out my backpack. I locked my car behind me as I walked up to the front door.

"Mom? Dad?" I called out as I walked inside the house, just to make sure no one was really here. As soon as I shut the door, my pomsky puppy Fifi ran up to my feet and looked at me innocently. "Hi, baby girl!" I cooed as I reached down to scratch her behind her ears. I kissed her nose and she licked my cheek, making me giggle. I stood straight up and walked over to the kitchen. There was a note on the top on the marble counter so I picked it up and read it out loud.

'Stella, your father and I are going to be working late tonight so please clean up around the house. Do the dishes, wash, dry, and fold the laundry, pick up your dog's toys, and whatever else there is to keep yourself busy. There are some leftovers from last night's dinner in the fridge, so heat it up for yourself when you get hungry. I'll see you in the morning. Mom.'

I scoffed as I tore up the note and tossed it into the trashcan. Isn't it nice that my mom didn't even put a simple 'love you' at the end? What a great parental figure she is. Whatever. I just shook my head and made my way up the stairs to my room.

Ugh, I always cringe every time I come in here. It's way too girly for me with the light blue, pink, brown, and white décor and the stuffed animals piled up at the corner of my room. I've always wanted to redo my room so it expresses more of who I am, but my parents never let me. No repainting the walls, no posters, no nothing.

Well, they did let me put up pictures of me in cheer and trophies from all of the cheer competitions I was in. Nothing says self-expression like me dressing up like a bimbo surrounded by people I'd rather choke than call my friends.

I rummaged through my closet until I found my two suitcases. I pulled them out and laid them on my bed. After I opened them, I went back to my closet to pick out the clothes that I really wanted to keep with me and packed them. Once I was done with my closet, I crouched down and pulled out all of my art supplies I hid underneath my bed. I stacked the various paints, brushes, pencils, and anything else I needed in the other suitcase.

I grabbed whatever else was important and added them to my luggage. By the end, I had my clothes, art supplies, phone charger, iPod, Fifi's toys, and the stuffed puppy I've had since I was a baby all packed up and ready to go.

Then I remembered that I had to get all of the toiletries I needed so I grabbed my backpack and walked into the bathroom. I put my toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, face wash, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, and body wash in my backpack and zipped it up. I looked up at the mirror connected to the wall and stared at my reflection for quite a while.

To be honest, I never really thought I was that attractive. I don't wanna consider myself ugly, but I definitely didn't think I was the prettiest girl in the world. While others girls have straight blonde hair with blue eyes, I on the other hand dark brown eyes with curly, dark auburn hair. I've always been the shortest of my friends, standing at 5'2". Also, because I was curvier than most girls, I became the easiest target when it came to putting people down, especially from my parents.

I turned my body to get a side view of my body, which was covered in a black tanktop and denim shorts. I frowned a bit as I poked my stomached with my finger. I'll be the first to admit that I do have a teeny bit of tummy poking out, but that didn't mean that it doesn't hurt when the stick-thin cheerleaders and my own parents are always telling me to go to the gym more or to eat more salads.

I always felt out of place with how I looked and I am constantly reminded of that by everyone. They all expect me to be like my older sister who has everything going for her: she's blonde, tall, skinny, smart, and one hell of a cheerleader. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of her accomplishments, but everyone expects me to follow her footsteps and be just as outstanding.

But I'm not. And that's the sad truth. It's fine with me because I was always for being myself no matter what everyone else thought, but that never stopped people from nagging me to be perfect. After a while, I no longer had the drive to be close to be perfect. Even if I tried, I would never be like my sister. Since I don't have her beauty, I had to work twice as hard on my grades and cheer, but I still was never able to meet everyone's expectations.

"Why can't you be more like your sister?" they'd always say to me, "She has a brilliant future ahead of her, so what do you have to offer?" I was so sick of hearing the same God damn thing over and over again.

But, through all of the constant shame, there was that one person that has always been right next to me, supporting my dreams and being there to comfort me when I needed.

His name was Carlos Garcia, also known as my best friend, partner in crime, and above all, the love of my life.

I've known Carlos since middle school when he accidentally spilled his Gatorade all over the drawing I was working on. He wouldn't stop apologizing to me, but instead of freaking out about it, I took out some markers and used the mess of to create one of my favorite pieces of artwork ever. I gave it to him to reassure him that I wasn't mad at him and he loved it. He then sat down next to me and we began to bond over art. We've been inseparable ever since.

When Carlos asked me to be his girlfriend freshman year, I was quick to say yes. To me, he was perfect in every way, even though he always said that I deserved someone better. He was an incredible singer and I always made him sing for me whenever I had a bad day. It automatically always made me feel better. He's so funny and was always cracking jokes and pulling pranks on people. Not to mention that he has the biggest heart in the world. He's always putting others before himself and has never asked for anything in return. He's always smiling, greeting people with the sweetest hello, and always lending a hand or ear to anyone who needed it.

I remember one day I got into a huge fight with my parents about me wanting to quit cheer because I despised it so much. My parents claimed that it was good for me and that I needed something to do. I kept telling them that I love art but they thought I was being stupid and that I'm too young to know what I want in life. I stormed out the door and drove to Carlos's house. Right when he opened the door, I wrapped my arms around him and sobbed uncontrollably into his chest. We lied down on his bed and he just listened to me rant about everything and everyone and the whole time he was kissing my temple and rubbing my arm soothingly. He told me to screw what everyone else thought and to do what made me happy.

"Why try so hard to make the others around you happy when you're the one that's going to be miserable in the end?" he said to me, "You can't please everyone, Stella. As long as you're happy doing the things that you love, eventually everyone will see it and accept you for who you are." That night, he made me feel so much love in more ways than one. It was definitely my favorite night we shared together.

Buzz! Buzz! I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out and on the front screen was Carlos's name and picture. I smiled as I answered his call. "Hello?"

"Hey, Stella!" he chirped from the other side, "I just got to your house. Do you need help bringing your stuff down?"

"Yes, please," I answered, "That'd be great."

"Ok, love. I'll be right there." And with that, he hung up. In less than a minute, I heard Carlos walk up the stairs and come into my room. He wore a black sweatshirt, khaki shorts, blue Vans, and a blue snapback. We smiled as soon as we saw each other. He walked over to me, gave me a huge kiss, and wrapped his strong arms around my waist. "Hey, beautiful."

"Hi," I giggled, wrapping my arms around his neck.

He lifted his head and rested his forehead against mine. His deep chocolate brown eyes and intoxicating smile always managed to take my breath away. "Are you ready to go?"

I looked around my overly girly room once more, knowing that this was going to be the last time I was ever going to be in this house. There was a teeny part of me that was going to miss this place since I grew up here, but I knew that what we were doing was the right choice. We needed to go somewhere that we can be happy with no stress, no drama, and no pressure around us. It was time for us to be happy for once, even if that means running away and starting all over.

"I'm more than ready," I told my boyfriend, giving him the biggest smile I could ever give.

Carlos smiled back at me, dimples appearing on his cheeks. "Then let's do it." He kissed my nose and pulled away so he could grab my suitcases. "Make sure to wear a sweatshirt, love. It's gonna be cold tonight." I grabbed my grey Sherwood High sweatshirt and pulled it over my head. It was actually Carlos's but he let me keep it, saying that it looked better on me than him. It was a little too big for me, but that's what made it more comfortable.

I slung the straps of my backpack over my shoulders and followed Carlos down the stairs. I found Fifi sleeping on the couch and I picked her up. She continued to sleep as I carried her. I took one better look at this house, saying my last goodbyes. I then walked out and shut the door behind me.

Carlos was placing my suitcases in the bed of his truck where two of his own bags were located. After he made sure that everything was all secure, we both stepped inside the vehicle. I put on my seatbelt as he punched in the address for the apartment we found in New York into his GPS. Once the destination was set, Carlos fastened his own seatbelt and looked at me.

"Are you sure you still wanna do this, Stella?" he asked me, "I would never force you into something you don't want to do."

I giggled at my boyfriend's concern and slipped my fingers through his. "If I didn't want to do this, I wouldn't be sitting in this truck next to you right now. I need a change in my life. I'm ready to start over with you. I love you, Carlos."

He leaned towards me and gave me the gentlest yet passionate kiss he could give me. "I love you too, Stella. I'm gonna make you so happy in New York, I promise." He gave me one more kiss, patted Fifi's head, and put the car into gear.

Before I knew it, Carlos and I were on the highway, making our way to New York. I know running away is a very risky thing to do, especially with your significant other, but we both knew that this would be good for us. Trust me, I wouldn't have done if I didn't think Carlos and I were going to last, but I knew that he and I were going to make it with each other for a very long time. He was my knight in shining armor, my light, my world. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't even be here.

I've learned that I don't need to be surrounded by tons of friends and family who are always pressuring me to be someone that I knew was going to make me miserable. As long as I have that one person who will always be there to support and love me through any time- good and bad- I was set for life. And thank God that I finally found that person. That's all I needed.

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**Please review and let me know what you think! Also if you haven't, be sure to check out Send Me An Angel, Dance Is Better With U, and Scandalous and leave your thoughts! It would mean the world to me. I'm for sure going to be updating this week.  
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**Last night, I found out that one of my favorite actors Cory Monteith, who played Finn Hudson on Glee, had passed away. I was crying my eyes out when I heard about it. I'm still super bummed out about it, so I'm sending my prayers to his friends, family, and Lea. Now I have a new angel to look up to. I love you, Cory, and I'll miss you dearly. R.I.P. xoxo, Maddie **


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